| 释义 |
-most, suffix|məʊst, məst|
forming adjs. in the superlative degree (many of which are also used as advs.), is an altered form of OE. -mest (= Goth. -umist), a combination of two distinct OTeut. (and Indogermanic) superlative suffixes, -mo- (which occurs, e.g., in OE. forma first, hindema last, and in L. prīmus first), and -isto- -est. Those OE. superlatives in -mest which either descend from OTeut., or are extensions of OTeut. superlatives in -mo-, are formed not on adjs. but on prepositional or demonstrative stems; examples are æftemest (see aftermost), formest or fyrmest foremost, inmest inmost, niðemest lowest, ufemest or yfemest (see ovemest), útmest or ýtmest utmost, ýmest (= Goth. auhumists) highest; the only instance (among the words belonging to this primary group) of formation on an adj.-stem is midmest midmost. On the analogy of these older words, the suffix -mest was in OE. used to form superlatives of several adjs. of local and temporal signification, as lætmest, síðemest latest, éastmest, westmest (also westema), norðmest, súðmest.
In late OE. the adjs. in -mest came to be regarded as compounds of mǽst most, as the frequent spelling -mæst shows. The subsequent history of the written form of the suffix coincides with that of the adj., exc. that the absence of stress led to the occasional retention of the spelling -mest (beside the quasi-etymological -most) down to the 16th c. In mod. English the formal pronunciation of the suffix is assimilated to that of the adj., though colloq. the normal pronunciation |məst| is usual.
As the superlatives in -mest, -most corresponded to comparatives in -er, analogy led to the insertion of r or er before the suffix: thus aftemest was in early ME. altered to aftermest, and ovemest was replaced by overmost. In the 15th and 16th c. the suffix -most (interpreted as identical with most a.) was added to many comparatives in -er, on the analogy of earlier adverbial formations in -more, as in furthermost, hindermost, innermost, lowermost, outermost, uppermost, uttermost.
In ME. and modern English, the suffix has been appended to certain positive adjs.; to ns. used adjectively, as in backmost, bottommost, topmost; and to advs., as in downmost, upmost, hithermost.
The restriction of the application of the suffix to words denoting position in place, time, or serial order, which existed in OE., has almost universally been adhered to in the subsequent formations; the only exception, in a word that has obtained any degree of currency, is bettermost. The only other violations of the rule occur in mere nonce-words, as in the following quot.
a1618Sylvester Ded. Sonn. i, To Maidens Blush, Accept a Heart which to Your Highnesse owes whole Hecatombs of Happy-most Desires. |